Recapturing Your Downtown 2010
A conference designed to help your Downtown Prosper…
Conference: October 21, 2010-SAVE THE DATE!!!
Jefferson Street Inn, Wausau, WI
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Americans for the Arts, the national service organization advancing the arts in America, has presented the 2010 Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award to Anne Katz, executive director of Arts Wisconsin. The award was presented on June 27 at the Americans for the Arts Half-Century Summit in Baltimore, MD. The award honors an individual who has dramatically affected the political landscape through arts advocacy efforts at the state level. The Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award is presented by the State Arts Action Network of Americans for the Arts. Read More Fond du Lac, Wis. In an effort to revitalize Downtown Fond du Lac, drive consumerism and tourism and economic health, more than 150 members of the public met at the Windhover Center for the Arts and the Ramada Plaza Hotel on February 15-18, 2010 for a community immersion workshop. Through one-on-one interviews, focus groups and community forums, participants shared ideas for a new downtown Fond du Lac cultural arts district. A cultural arts district would leverage existing downtown facilities, as well as create new arts, education and entertainment facilities in a central downtown location. Essential access points to the proposed cultural district include the North gateway as the main entrance to downtown located along Main Street between Johnson Street and Merrill Avenue; and the river walk encompassing the area adjacent to the Fond du Lac River and Hamilton Park including a recreational trail. The four-day immersion workshop was hosted by Kevin Miller, executive director of the Fond du Lac Arts Council and Amy Hansen, director of the Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership. Professional community development consultants have been engaged; team members include Schreiber Anderson Associates (SAA) of Madison, lead planning consultant; the North Group, Inc., a New York cultural arts firm; BEST Real Estate Group, Inc., Cottage Grove, Wis., a market analysis and real estate consultant; and Coalesce Inc., Appleton, a strategic marketing agency. At the center of discussion was the redesigned Fond du Lac Downtown which will serve as the community “great room” as well as provide the city with business, job, and tourism growth. Business owners, property owners, civic leaders, educators, members of local arts and culture groups, and citizens provided valuable input for the proposed districts. “Our goal is to leverage Fond du Lac’s existing assets and create new facilities for arts and entertainment to encourage and stimulate business development,” said Kevin Miller, arts council executive director. “This will help to drive tourism in the area.” Proposed ideas included new, upscale restaurants, pubs, coffee houses, museums, gallery space, a venue for film festivals, an open-air amphitheater, specialty shops, better-marked parking and signage, university downtown classrooms, a community school for the arts and historically consistent facades and lighting for the district. Results of the Community Immersion Workshop will be incorporated into a vision plan and shared with the public at a community vision forum scheduled for April 29, 2010 at Windhover Center for the Arts. For More Information, Contact: Kevin Miller – Arts Council Executive Director kevin@windhovercenter.org (920)-921-5410 Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center It’s the Economy Stupid!
WDAC again collaborates to offer downtown webinars In its second season, the webinar series called Revitalizing Wisconsin’s Downtowns provide downtowns with sound advice, local dialogue and peer-learning. Local leaders, downtown directors and local economic development professionals (and anyone interested in your downtown) have an opportunity to contribute to supporting your downtown district. State and national experts present information relevant to the topics and are available to address questions. You and your community can easily be part of these quarterly sessions. Topics & Dates: (Thursdays noon until 1:30pm) March 11: Shopping Downtown and the “Deliberate Consumer” May 13: Living Downtown September 9: Working Downtown November 11: Entertainment Downtown You can access these webinars from home or business with the appropriate computer and phone setup, the full value of the program is achieved when everyone participates from a regional host site where you can learn from and interact with your peers and share in the local dialogue. In most cases, local sponsorships are used to help defray or reduce the cost of participating in these programs. For more information and to register contact the appropriate UW-Extension host in your area. Check out: http://lgc.uwex.edu/downtowns/ Revitalizing Wisconsin’s Downtowns is a collaborative effort among Wisconsin Downtown Action Council, Wisconsin Main Street Program and University of Wisconsin-Extension. Time: 9:00am-2:00pmMeeting Place: Tomah Tee Pee Restaurant – 812 Superior AvenueRegistration Fee:$10.00
RSVP’s must be received before March 12th, 2010 via e-mail to chanson@tomahwisconsin.comCommunity Visit Agenda9:00AM Check in and networking 9:45AM Welcome by City of Tomah Officials and Jason Gilman, WDAC President 10:15AM OUR TOWN TOMAH- Joanne Westpfhal and Susan Holmes-citizens at work improving Tomah’s Downtown 11::00AM THE TOMAH CASH STORE- The challenges and successes of operating a downtown department store in the age of big box retailing-Mark Rose 11:45AM Lunch and Presentation- FAÇADE RENOVATION PROGRAMS- Kevin Pomeroy, Planning Director, 1,000 Friends of Wisconsin 1:00PM THE REDEVELOPMENT OF TOMAH’S DOWNTOWN RAILYARD- Scott Harrington, Vandewalle and Associates 1:45PM WALKING TOUR OF TOMAH DOWNTOWN- Chris Hanson, Tomah Chamber of Commerce. 2:15PM WDAC BOARD MEETING The Wisconsin Downtown Action Council encourages you to be a part of an enlightening community visit to the City of Tomah. With a population of just over 8,600, Tomah is located midway between Milwaukee and the Twin Cities. In this time when every community is struggling to do more with less, there is much to be learned from the simple yet effective progress that this small community is making to revitalize their downtown. With an active citizens group, a successful downtown department store, and an exciting redevelop project in the works, Tomah has much to offer.
Our Town Tomah is an active citizen’s group that works to leverage limited resources into big impacts in Downtown Tomah. Largely following the recommendations from a “first impressions” study, that was completed in 2004, this group has been able to identify projects that would improve the overall appeal of the community for visitors, businesses, and residents. They have implemented an annual City-wide clean-up day and organized a flower planting program to beautify the downtown area. In a time when big box stores in fringe commercial districts have captured much of the retail demand and made it difficult for downtown retail to survive, it is rare to find a successful department store that is still operating in the downtown. The Tomah Cash Store has gone against the trend, serving the Tomah Community since 1900, offering 3 floors and 30,000 square feet of furniture, gifts, collectibles, men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, and much more right downtown. This community visit will offer an inside look at the challenges and successes of this unique store. This community visit will also offer an early look at a major redevelopment project that is in the works on the downtown rail yard. Canadian Pacific Railway currently owns the 61 acre property in the center of the City. However, they are looking to sell the property, and have hired Vandewalle & Associates to assist them with marketing and researching development concepts for the property. They are currently working with the City Long Range Planning Committee to identify and develop possible themes for the property, explore the potential for a mix of uses, and identify funding sources for the redevelopment. This project is really starting to gain momentum, as a public meeting was held in early February and businesses and developers are starting to take notice of this opportunity. This community visit will offer the opportunity for everyone to learn from the progress that has been made on this project, and also for the WDAC network to offer insight to the City of Tomah as they keep moving forward. Please join us in the City of Tomah on March 19, 2010 for an exciting opportunity to learn, network, and work together to improve downtowns across the State of Wisconsin. “Creating Resilient and Healthy
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